In a letter explaining his intent to retire from government service by the end of December this year, [Trent Lott]…denied that the change in lobbying laws (prohibiting senators from becoming lobbyists for two years, as opposed to one year at present), which kicks in on December 31, right after his re$ignation takes place, had anything to do with his decision.The following is reported by By Carl Hulse in the New York Times 11-30-2007:

“…What is even more striking is that Mr. Lott had barely begun his fourth term. Just a year ago, he persuaded the voters of Mississippi to send him back to Washington for another six years. Politicians are usually loath to break that unwritten agreement with the voters unless they have a pretty good reason. Some people expect politicians to fulfill their obligations.

Mr. Lott himself cited his bond with the voters in 2002 when he decided to remain in the Senate after being forced to step aside as Republican leader following the furor over a racially charged remark he made at Strom Thurmond’s 100th birthday party.

“I have a six-year contract with the people of Mississippi,” he said at the time. “I have a job to do.”

True, Mr. Lott exhibited some reluctance about running this time around and in 2006 flirted with retiring to go into the private sector. But he signed on again, citing the need to help the state recover from the hurricane that claimed his own home. Once he was back, he seemed to jump in with both feet, persuading his colleagues to give him a spot in the leadership — an amazing political rebound.

But the Senate evidently doesn’t hold the allure it once did. Among those departing in January 2009 — at the designated end of their terms — are Republicans Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, Wayne Allard of Colorado, John W. Warner of Virginia, Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico and Larry Craig of Idaho. The reasons include general frustration, changes in the political climate of their states and advancing years, not to mention an undercover sex sting and the prospect of remaining in the minority.

No doubt Mr. Lott, a lawmaker who took real joy in cutting deals both during his days in the House and as a skilled Senate broker, is frustrated by the current Senate stalemate. But the timing of his departure seems aimed more at beating tougher restrictions on lobbying by former members. And it seems more than coincidental that his friend and fellow deal maker, former Democratic Senator John Breaux of Louisiana, is breaking away from his firm to open a new lobbying and consulting shop.

The draw of the dollar on K Street is strong. Mr. Lott can make millions providing advice to big-money interests willing to pay handsomely for his tutelage on navigating Congress. Compared to some other former lawmakers working the street, Mr. Lott might be worth it. He really knows how to play the game after serving as whip in the House and both majority and minority leader in the Senate. He could be invaluable to insurance companies, airlines, banks, defense contractors, health care entities and anyone with tax issues, not to mention the oil and gas interests he and Mr. Breaux backed as lawmakers.

Mr. Lott might be the first senator to forfeit part of his term to become a lobbyist, but not the first who was checking his bank balance when he quit. Mr. Chandler, the Kentuckian who left to oversee baseball, made no bones about his motives. He later wrote that the $50,000 starting salary was a major factor.

“I was making $10,000 as a United States senator from Kentucky and losing the battle then common to senators who tried to maintain separate residences in Washington and their home states,” he said.

“The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground”. –Thomas Jefferson

“The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive.” -Thomas Jefferson

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.” -Thomas Jefferson

“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” -Thomas Jefferson

“Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of Liberty.” –Thomas Jefferson

“A wise and frugal government which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.”– Thomas Jefferson (1801)

“Religious institutions that use government power in support of themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths, or of no faith, undermine all our civil rights. Moreover, state support of an established religion tends to make the clergy unresponsive to their own people, and leads to corruption within religion itself. Erecting the ‘wall of separation between church and state,’ therefore, is absolutely essential in a free society.” – Former US President Thomas Jefferson

“I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.” -John Adams

“In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.” -John Adams

“Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There was never a democracy that did not commit suicide.” -John Adams, Letter, April 15, 1814

“A new poll of Iowa Republicans released yesterday by Rasmussen Reports Inc., a polling firm, put Messrs. Huckabee and Romney neck and neck, with 28% favoring Mr. Huckabee and 25% favoring Mr. Romney. Mr. Giuliani, the national front-runner, is seen as too socially liberal for Iowans and received 12% support in the poll. Former Sen. Fred Thompson had 11% support and other candidates were in the single digits.

This is the first major Iowa poll since July that hasn’t shown Mr. Romney in the lead, according to Real Clear Politics, a Web site that tracks voter surveys. The poll of 839 likely Republican caucus-goers had a margin of error of 3.5%.

Mr. Huckabee’s surge is remarkable given how much he has been outspent. Mr. Romney has spent at least $3.5 million on television ads that have been running since February, according to independent estimates. Mr. Huckabee went on the air for the first time last week.”

…”His campaign staff is growing but still tiny by presidential standards, with just 14 paid workers and a handful of full-time volunteers. Field directors who have carved up the state are still working to recruit county chairs and precinct captains. Boone County, north of Des Moines, has 16 precincts, but so far just four have captains for Mr. Huckabee.“